"We must plan now for the emerging diversity of needs across the primary education system" the Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin T.D., told teachers attending the INTO annual conference in Kilkenny today ."Most of the new primary schools opened in recent years have been non-denominational in ethos. And next September, a very significant development will take place with the commencement of the three community national schools under the patronage of County Dublin VEC. This new model will cater for children of all faiths and of none and the schools will be welcoming to all children from within their local communities."
Minister Hanafin announced that she is planning a major conference in June of this year to consider the implications of the new societal diversity on the future organisation of our schools. Each of the main patron bodies will be invited to participate along with other representatives including teachers, parents and management bodies. Participants at the conference will consider issues such as:
* The challenges that a changing society presents for both new and existing schools in areas such as their ethos and approach to religious instruction;
* The balance between parental choice and capacity to deliver;
* The need to ensure that all schools are inclusive; and
* The implications of this for enrolment policies
Minister Hanafin said "discussions at this conference will focus on the particular challenges of ethos and inclusion for patron bodies, under the existing as well as new patronage models. We need to ensure that we are well placed to cater for future demands. The conference will consider the long term challenges of organising and developing our system of school governance to accommodate new parental demands and aspirations, deal with issues of capacity and choice and ensure whole of community inclusion.
It will look at the wider questions involved in meeting the needs of a diverse community, in terms of enrolment policies as well as issues such as the approach to teaching religion in integrated settings."
In a wide ranging speech to delegates attending the conference, Minister Hanafin spoke about the increased investment in primary education over the past decade, which has seen increases year on year to grow to over €3billion this year.
Minister Hanafin said that investment in ICT for schools over the next six years will address a wide range of needs from hardware and software, to teacher training, curriculum-relevant digital content, maintenance and technical support. "I will shortly be publishing a major evaluation by the inspectorate of the impact of ICTs on teaching and learning and also the Report and Recommendations of the Strategy Group which I asked to advise me on priorities for investment in this area. Implementation of the Group's recommendations will commence this year."
Minister Hanafin also sounded words of caution in relation to expenditure and the economy and how the Government is facing head on "more challenging times for the Irish economy. While growth of 2.8% is still far better than many other countries are doing, it is considerably less than the higher rates that had been achieved in recent years. The Government must act responsibly now to ensure that our overall levels of spending are sustainable into the future.
Our schools have helped to create the well-educated workforce that has been central to our economic progress to date. They will continue to be just as crucial in meeting the skills needs that our future social and economic prosperity depends on" concluded Minister Hanafin.
